Saura tribal children in Odisha's Gajapati to get education in own language

The children belonging to the Saura tribal community in Odisha's Gajapati district will now get pre-school education in their own language, officials said on Wednesday.

The Gajapati administration has rolled out a programme — Aame Padhibaa Aama Bhasare (we will learn in our own language) — for this purpose, they said.

The initiative will cover 30 anganwadi centres in Gumma and Rayagada blocks in the district, where around 90 per cent of the population belongs to the Saura tribal community, District Social Welfare Officer Manorama Devi said.

"In the first phase, we have selected 30 anganwadi centres — 15 each in Gumma and Rayagada blocks to implement the initiative on a pilot basis," she said.

A workshop for the successful implementation of the programme was conducted at Paralakhemundi, Devi said.

Preliminary training was imparted to the anganwadi workers of the two blocks, and further training will also be given to them before the children enrol at the centres, she said.

The initiative would boost the early childhood care and education (ECCE) for those aged between three and six years, she added.

Additional district education officer S Giridhar said the initiative aligns with the National Education Policy (NEP)-2020, which stressed the use of mother tongue or home language as the medium of instruction in pre-school education.

"When the children see their language and culture reflected in the classroom, learning becomes joyful and meaningful," said Solomon Raika, district welfare officer.

The government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Piramal Foundation to support the implementation of the initiative.

In the first phase of the initiative, the government has decided to implement the programme in six tribal-majority districts, including Gajapati.

Other districts include Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Kandhamal and Keonjhar.

The organisation will support four southern Odisha districts where the children will be taught in indigenous languages such as Koya (Malkangiri), Gondi (Nabarangpur), Kuvi (Rayagada) and Soura (Gajapati), said Devesh Acharya of the organisation.

"We will constitute an expert committee for the development of textbooks in these languages for the pre-school children soon," he said.